Almost Doesn't Count
by mainsqueezee
Summary: AU. Maura's father leaves her in Jane's protection while he's away on business.
1. First Impressions

"Now if we're talking body

You got a perfect one

So put it on me

Swear it won't take you long

If you love me right

We fuck for life

On and on and on"

I love this song. I sing along and turn up the radio as I pull into the winding driveway. A small blue sedan is parked in my usual spot. Whose toy car? I huff.

"Dad!" I call out. I need help with all these bags. "Daddy!" I call out again. I honk my horn twice for good measure.

I pop the trunk and walk around to the back of the car. I spent all day at Copley Place trying to find the perfect shoes and accessories for my birthday dress. Thankfully I was able to find everything there. Otherwise I would've been driving all over Boston.

"Jesus! Maura did you by the whole mall?!" My father finally joins me at my car. He motions for someone to come over and grabs two arms full of bags.

Ok, I'll admit it. I bought more than what I need for my party, but I definitely didn't buy the whole mall. I follow his line of sight to a tall dark haired woman. I've never seen her before.

"Jane, this is my daughter Maura." He introduces her. "Maura, I'd like you to meet Jane."

"Nice to meet you, Ms. Maura." Jane holds out her hand but I don't shake it.

Instead I point to the blue sedan. "Is that yours?" I ask, arms folded across my chest.

She doesn't say anything. Just nods and pulls back her hand.

"You parked in my spot." I tell her.

"Maura! Don't be rude." My father shouts. I begin to protest, she's in the wrong here but he cuts me off before I can even begin. "Shut your engine off and meet us inside."

He then turns his attention to Jane, "I apologize for my daughter. She's a bit spoiled. Mind giving me a hand with these?" he looks at the bags in my trunk.

"Sure, right behind you." Jane tells my father. Scooping up the last of the shopping bags from my trunk.

I close the trunk, cut off the engine and grab my keys. I follow the two of them into the house and close the door behind us. My dad and Jane set the bags in the living room and he tells me to come into the kitchen with them. What's this about? I grab a bottled water from the refrigerator and take a seat at the island. I take a sip of water. They're not going to tell me they're dating are they? No, she's too young. Now that I'm paying attention I can see Jane is fairly attractive. I would guess she's in her late 20s. She's tall but not lanky, from the look of her arms I'd say she's athletic.

"Jane does private security." My father says. "She's come highly recommended. She's even worked with a few celebrities."

"Are we in some kind of danger?" I ask, genuinely concerned.

"There have been some threats but nothing too alarming this is more of a preventive measure than anything else." He explains.

"I thought Michael handled our security?" I question my father. Michael's been with the family for as long as I can remember. Why would my father be replacing him?

When I was younger security around my family was much tighter. My father's made up no lies about who he is to me. He's Patrick Doyle, family man born into the Irish mob as he describes it. He has a few legit businesses around Boston so I tell everyone he's an entrepreneur. My mother, Hope Martin was killed in a car crash. As devastating as it was it was an accident. I was only six at the time. I guess something changed in my father because shortly after her death he cut the security detail down to just Michael. I think he realized no matter how prepared you are, some things just happen.

"Yes, but Michael can only be in one place at a time, and I have to be in New York on business for the next two months. He'll be accompanying me. I've hired Jane for your protection while I'm away." He dances around it but I can read between the lines.

Jane is going to be my babysitter. I scoff. "I'm seventeen. I don't need a babysitter, dad."

"Oh, I'm not a babysitter." Jane interjects as if I've offended her. I huff letting her know I could care less what she considers herself. "I'll only be making sure no one tries to harm you while you're father is away." Jane tries to explain. "I've worked with families before. You'll have all your privacy my only concern is your safety."

I ignore her. "Wait, you said the next two months. That means you'll miss my birthday. You won't be here for the party?" I ask my father.

"Unfortunately not. I'm really sorry, Maura. I have to leave for New York tomorrow." Tomorrow? He's leaving tomorrow and he's only decided to drop all this on me tonight.

I can't stand to look at either of them. I storm out of the kitchen and to the living room to gather my bags.

"Maura, come back here." My father calls out for me.

I continue up to my room where I lay the bags on the floor and fall back onto my bed. My father said threats… death threats? I kick off my heels and roll further onto the bed. My mind begins to unravel. What if there actually is some kind of danger? I can't really be upset that my dad cares enough to get me a… bodyguard. If she's not a babysitter than that's the only other logical title. She's my bodyguard. I don't like it, but I guess I don't have a choice. What's so important that my dad would miss my birthday? He's never missed a birthday.

A knock on the door pulls me from my thoughts. "Come in." I sit up, ready to apologize to my father for my behavior downstairs. He didn't deserve that.

To my surprise it's not him. "Hey." Jane says, she's standing in my doorway. "I just wanted to let you know I start tomorrow. I'll be going home tonight to get my things but until your dad returns I'll be staying in the guest room on the main floor."

"That's the smallest guest room in the house." I tell her. Not like I care where she sleeps.

"In case anything happens I'd like to be close to the security room and both the front and back door."

"So you can run away?" I say sarcastically.

She laughs and I furrow my brows. She wasn't supposed to find it funny. "Goodnight, Ms. Maura." She closes my door.

 **First chapter of a series that i will be uploading. Feedback is welcome. Thanks for reading.**


	2. Stranger Danger

"Good morning, Maura."

The lights in my room are suddenly turned on. I yank the sheets up over my head and try to sink further into my bed. I feel all the weight shift to one side. My father pulls the blanket down past my face.

"You're mother and I use to take turns waking you up and getting you off to school. If we left you alone for just a second you would be right back in bed and we'd have to start all over." He smiles. "That's how much of a handful you were, and still are." He pushes some of my hair from my eyes.

"I'm… sorry for the way I acted yesterday." The apology comes out rushed. It's not very often that I find myself apologizing. "I'm going to miss you." I say, looking out of my bedroom window I can see its morning. He'll be leaving for New York soon.

"I'll miss you too, honey, but you were right about one thing yesterday." He says. "You'll be eighteen soon. Legally you'll be an adult," He pauses and pulls out his wallet. He opens to it and shows me a picture of me. I must be around 8 or 9 when it was taken. "But you'll always be my baby. So please, Maura. Try not to give Jane a hard time. She's here to keep you safe." He puts away his wallet.

After the passing of my mother, my father seemed to be home a lot more than usual. He went away for business sparingly and the longest he would be gone was two or three days. He always found new things for us to do together we traveled almost everywhere visiting museums, festivals, things my mother would have loved. There were also days we'd do things he loved like fishing and watching marathons of black and white television shows about cowboys. I pull him into a hug, inhaling his Tom Ford cologne. I buy it for him every Christmas and it's become his signature smell.

"I'll give her another chance." I say, releasing him from the hug. My response gets a laugh out of him. "But as you said I am a handful and-" I don't get to finish because I'm interrupted by Jane standing in my doorway once again.

"That's what I have two hands for." Jane interjects. "Good morning, Ms. Maura." She adds.

That's not what I was going to say. I was going to say if she can't handle it she should find another family to work for. I fight the urge to send a sarcastic remark her way. I did just say I would give her a second chance.

"I'm sorry to interrupt, but we're running a bit behind, Sir. Michael is warming up the car now." She turns to my father.

He looks at his watch. "You're right. Time is money." He tells Jane. My father pulls me into a hug and kisses my forehead. "I'll call and check on you when I land, I love you." He tells me before standing from the bed and following Jane out of my room.

"I love you too, Dad!" I call after him.

I roll over and grab my phone from its charging dock. _VIP Girls Dress Shopping_ the calendar notification reads. Like I would forget. Out of 200 guests there are only six VIPs for my party. Three girls, Riley and Cailin my two best girlfriends, myself of course, and our escorts. It was my idea for us to go shopping for their dresses together. After all, they have to look good enough to stand next to me.

When the three of us spoke last night, we agreed it would be easier if Riley went over to Cailin's house and I picked them both up from there around 12 o'clock today. I check the time and see that its almost 9. I drag myself out of bed and into the bathroom where I freshen up for my morning run. I pull on a pair of black leggings, a purple NIKE tank top and my running shoes. I grab my phone and head downstairs for a smoothie.

I find Jane in the kitchen. She easily has a few inches of height on me, which is much more noticeable now that I'm not in heels. Her hair is pulled up in a ponytail just like yesterday. I wonder if she ever wears it down. Then I notice something. Jane's not in the suit pants and blouse she had on yesterday. She's wearing track pants with a long sleeve shirt and a running vest over it.

"Am I in your way, Ms. Maura?" She asks and I realize she's caught me staring at her.

"No. I just… Why are you dressed for a run?" I ask moving around her and grabbing the blender to start on my smoothie.

"Your father mentioned you run every morning. I'll be coming with you." Jane says taking a seat at the island.

I bite my tongue. I've become a prisoner overnight. There's no use in trying to change her mind. I can feel her watching me move around the kitchen. I throw some kale, pinapple, an apple and some water in the blender and watch it blend. When its done I grab two glasses and pour the smoothie into both evenly. I put a glass down in front of Jane.

"I'll pass." She slides the glass back to me.

I push it back to her. "If you insist on following me around for the next two months you're going to need the energy." I take my glass and drink from it.

"I can keep up with you just fine." Her brown eyes seek out my Hazel ones.

Sounds like a challenge to me. I finish my glass.

"So prove it." I tell her. "Normally I just run around the neighborhood but why don't we go to the track this morning."

"I don't think that's a good idea."

"I thought you said you could keep up," I attempt to push her buttons. "What is it? Are you too old? Bad Knees?"

She stands from the barstool, "I'm ready when you are."

"Aren't you forgetting something?" I point to her still full glass.

She sighs heavily. "Five laps around the track. If I win, I don't drink anymore of these, deal?" she barters.

I realize that this is the closest we've been to one another. She's practically standing over me. The smell of her shampoo and body wash fills my nose. I watch her drink the smoothie and take the glass from her. I place both glasses in the sink and follow her out.

She pulls out her keys and unlocks the doors to her car. I stop in my tracks. She can't seriously expect me to ride around with her in that thing.

"Is there a problem?" She asks looking back at me.

"A small one." I nod my head toward the car and fight back a laugh.

Jane shakes her head, "Very funny."

"Why don't we take my car?" I suggest. I pull out my keys and remote unlock my baby.

Jane looks between me and the diamond silver Mercedes S600. It was a surprise 16th birthday present from my father. I fell head over heels with the car, and its color when we visited the Mercedes dealer a few weeks before my 16th birthday. He insisted I get something less expensive and that I didn't have to be afraid to bang up as a first car but come the day of my birthday the car was sitting in my driveway with a big white bow.

"We can take your car," Jane agrees but I can feel a 'but' coming. "But I drive. You know for safety reasons." She shrugs trying to make it convincing.

"Yeah, right." I laugh. "As long as I don't have to be seen in that hotwheels." I point to her car.

"You mean matchbox?" She corrects me.

"Whatever." I tell her. "You get the point." Matchbox, hotwheels they're both toys right? Exactly.

"Sure." She laughs as she opens the passenger door for me and I slide in. I don't think I've ever ridden in the passenger seat of my own car before.

Jane walks around the car and lets herself in the driver side. She starts the car and once I have my seatbelt on she pulls out of the driveway. I go through my radio presets and stop when I hear a song I like.

"They're just girls breaking hearts

Eyes bright, uptight, just girls

But she can't be what you need if she's 17

They're just girls

They're just girls"

"What song is this?" Jane asks.

"Girls by The 1975" I answer her.

If Jane was serious when she talked about me keeping my privacy and how she's only worried about my safety maybe these next couple months won't be such a drag. We don't talk much for the rest of the ride, but I do get a few pieces of information. Like that Jane is only 27, she was born and raised here in Boston and she's never left. I heard once there's no fate worse than living and dying in the same place, but to each is own I guess.

She drives us to Back Bay Park. I watch her park and turn the car off and notice some scars on her hands, they're obviously old but still noticeable. The park is fairly empty but there are a few people on the track and some more on the basketball court.

"Ready for me to run laps around you?" Jane gets out the car and heads for the track.

I laugh. "Talk is cheap." I tell her. Something my father always says.

I start my usual stretches. Warming up my hamstrings, calves and quadriceps. Jane stands over me, she's glancing around the park. Looking for anything suspicious I assume. Once I'm all warmed up Jane and I get into running stance.

There's no 1, 2, 3, or even a ready, set. Jane says, "Go" and we take off

Jane blew me away the first two laps around the track. I wasn't expecting her to run full speed. She was really making me work up a sweat but I was determined to win. Jane seemed to use up all her energy in those two laps because I was able to pass her when she became out of breath and slowed down a bit. I stayed in the lead for the last three laps, Jane only a short way behind but as we approached the finish mark on our fifth lap Jane caught up and finished at the same time.

"What the hell was that?" I ask, out of breath. I was so close to winning.

"That was a tie." Jane places her hands on her knees and tries to catch her breath.

My legs are on fire. I look at my watch. Its half past 11. I'm going to be late picking up Riley and Cailin.

"Got somewhere to be?" Jane asks.

I fill her in on our way back to my car.

…

Cailin swings open the door and the two girls stand in the doorway with their heads tilted to the side and confused expressions on their faces.

"I know. I'm late." I state the obvious but the girls don't move. "But I'm here now. Lets get going." I say but they just stare at me.

Riley opens her mouth and I realize it's not me that's causing the confusion. "Who's tall, dark and gorgeous over there leaning on your car?" She says.

I look behind me. Jane is leaning up against the side of the car watching us. I wish she wouldn't do that she's going to cause fingerprints and smudges. I shake my head.

"That's Jane. I told you about her last night." I remind my friends. "Remember, I'm her prisoner while my fathers away." I joke.

"I wouldn't mind being locked up with her." Riley laughs.

"Not what I was expecting, she looks pretty normal." Cailin speaks.

The three of us head toward my car. Jane lets us in and I introduce everyone formally. Riley spends most of the ride drooling over Jane. Asking her questions about her career choice and hobbies. It turns out Jane use to be a club bouncer and she likes baseball. Her favorite team is the red sox. I'm not surprised by Riley's interest in Jane. Riley will flirt with anything that walks. She's bold and never seems afraid to approach anyone. I admire that about her. She always stuck up for me when I would get bullied by the kids in our neighborhood.

Cailin is trying to talk to me about my party invitations and the best way to hand them out but I keep getting drawn back into Jane and Riley's conversation. I look into the rear view mirror and catch a glimpse of Jane's face. Its calm, focused on the road ahead. I was expecting her to change back into her suit pants when we got back to the house but she opted for a pair of dark jeans, a button up and a leather jacket. She catches me starting at her and I look away.

When we reach the shopping plaza its nearly 2 o'clock. I lead the girls into the boutique and they begin picking dresses to try on. There's seating outside the fitting room and my legs are still pretty sore so I take a seat. Jane stands behind me.

Cailin comes out in her first dress. It's a peach colored dress with a beaded top and frilly bottom. I pull my lips together to keep from laughing. It looks more like a costume than a party dress.

"That bad?" She asks.

"Yeah. Try the next one." I suggest.

Riley walks out in a black dress. Not a shocker, black is her favorite color. I'm also not shocked that she looks great. Riley would look good in anything. She's wearing a long sleeve lace dress with a high neck. It's short enough to show off her legs but not overly skanky.

"Wow, that looks amazing on you." Cailin joins us in her second dress.

"Yeah, I think this may be the one." Riley spins, giving us a 360 look at her. "What do you think, Maura?" She asks.

I spent days, no, weeks searching for a dress to wear to my party and here Riley is finding her dress on the first try. "It's a little dark for a birthday party." I say, and it's the truth. She should be dressing for a celebration not a funeral.

"Jane?" Riley asks for her opinion. "What do you think?"

There's an awkward silence and I hear Jane move from behind me. The store is pretty small so she's only a few feet away. "Here, same dress. Just in… beige." Jane hands the dress to Riley.

I roll my eyes.

"Nude. The color is nude." I correct her.

Riley runs back into the fitting room to try it on, but not before giving Cailin a quick "Ooh la la. Check you out." I turn my attention to Cailin who's wearing a wine colored dress with mesh at the top. It's sexy, edgy, and it definitely says VIP.

"That looks great." My voice is flat.

"You look amazing." Jane speaks again.

Aren't bodyguards supposed to be seen and not heard?

I set aside the whole day for this ordeal, but now it can't be over soon enough. I should be happy I have such gorgeous friends but they're dresses rival my own and no one is supposed to look better than the birthday girl.

"Well, since its unanimous. I'll go with this one." Cailin decides.

Riley returns in the nude version of her already perfect dress, everyone is speechless. Including myself. The nude compliments her skin in a way that takes the dress above a 10 and breaks the scale. I look at Jane to gage her reaction. She's playing with the collar of her shirt, which is weird because I've never seen her fidgety. We give the dresses to the sales associate while we find bags and accessories to match.

As I swipe my card for the dresses and accessories I decide to rethink my birthday outfit. I refuse to be outshined at my own event.

"So what's next?" Cailin asks.

"Shoes of course." I perk up.

Who doesn't love a new pair of shoes?

I can't tell you what happen. Jane launched in front of me so fast I just saw her take him down. It was almost animalistic the way she tackled him to the ground, so hard you could hear his body making contact with the floor. The sound made me and the girls jump. He's screaming for her to let go and struggling against her, this only makes it worse and she presses his head into the floor. My friends are yelling for her to stop. I can't speak. I can see in her eyes that something has switched on inside her. Something dark. She lifts his body from floor and slams him into the wall with ease. Jane is holding his body against the wall and patting him down at the same time.

I find my words, "Jane, Stop!" I grab her shoulder.

This isn't the same Jane I ran with on the track, or laughed with in my car, but how can I be sure I only met her yesterday. She's a stranger. I'm spending the next two months with a complete stranger.

 **Thank you reading and reviewing the first chapter. Here is chapter 2, I hope you enjoy. Feedback is always welcome.**


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